Apparently you "shouldn't walk a dog if you don't want other dogs to say hello"

[daffodilandtulip]

I've posted similar before and I know I'll get the dog rights vigilante posters but I'm so fucking angry.

Walking along a footpath by houses with my dog on the lead. A larger dog comes bounding up with no owner in sight, snarling, clawing and jumping on my dog so I end up picking her up.

Dog owner appears and I ask the owner to call the dog off. Dog doesn't respond and is clawing at my legs. I tell the owner that he shouldn't have the dog off lead if he can't control it. He says the dog isn't doing any harm, he just wants to say hello. I said that my dog clearly didn't want it to so can you call your dog off. He tells me that he can do what he likes with his dog and that I'm a miserable cow. He finally catches the dog and calls me a stupid bitch.

And this is why retrospective dog laws won't matter. There needs to be checks/training/license from day one. Make it hard for people like this to get dogs in the first place. I'm so sick of not being able to go fucking anywhere without a "friendly" dog inviting itself. When will this end?!

Appalling and very upsetting, if anything like that happens again and if you are able to it might be a good idea to pull out your phone and film the owner and the dog.
The owner will try to minimise it because they always do, but that was a dog attack and the dog was out of control.
If it was me and I see them again I would take some footage of them and send it to the local authority along with details of the time date and place of the initial attack.

Eh?

I don’t particularly want other people saying hello to me when I’m out walking either but I still go walking because it’s good for me. We walk the dog because she needs exercise and to relieve herself, she’s scared of other dogs.

I've been in this same situation. Dog was going after my dog (who was on a lead) and when I picked her up the dog was jumping up at me trying to get to her.

I was fuming and told him to put it on a lead or get some kind of control. His response? It was my fault he was jumping up at me because I'd picked my dog up. My dog was bleeding at this point where it had nipped her and he still told me his dog was only being friendly then called me a stupid bitch and carried on.

I've got a photo of him and the dog now so if it happens again I'll post on SM to try and get his details and then I'll report him.

My dog is not there for your dog’s socialisation/pleasure, and my dog walk time which is meant to be pleasant and relaxing does not involve a commitment to stop and interact with every dog, on or off, lead that is allowed to do whatever the fuck it wants by ignorant indulgent owners

that is absolutely ridiculous. You are literally the person I absolutely dread meeting on my dog walks.
dogs are by their very nature, sociable animals and they can't understand the nuances of human behaviour, older dogs etc.
i agree it is down to the owner and if I spot a clearly old dog or a dog that doesn't want to play, then I immediately call my dog back abd he has excellent recall. But he will bound over and see if your dog wants to play because he is a DOG following his natural instincts!!

Personally I think I'd post it on social media now, this man's behaviour, the way that he's so confidently blamed you suggests to me that he has done this before and gotten away with it. If you post him up on social media his other victims will be able to collaborate and possibly make a case against him.
In the absence of proper legislation naming and shaming might be the best way to deal with the problem dog owners. If a few people start doing it and it works it will become a 'thing', irresponsible dog owners will know that they can't get away with it and hopefully will start keeping their dogs on a short leash!

But he will bound over and see if your dog wants to play because he is a DOG following his natural instincts!!
I am a human in a human society and if a dog bounds over to me my natural instinct is to wallop it with my stick.

If a dog is on a lead then I do not allow my dog to run up and say hello. It is not fair on the dog on the lead, or the owner who has to deal with dog on the lead and I also do not know why the dog is on the lead - it may very well be an aggressive dog that does not want my excitable spaniel in its face.

I also hate it when I have my dog on the lead and owners allow their dog to come bounding up which causes my (not very good at lead walking) spaniel to pull on the lead and try and run around like an idiot. They do this whilst I am carrying my baby on my front in a baby carrier and it is bloody inconsiderate!

This is the problem the whole of the outdoors has now become a fecking dogs playground,
'oh he's just having fun'
'he's just expressing his natural instincts'
So we have to put up with these irritating and sometimes menacing creatures milling around everywhere getting in everyone's way.
Dogs need to be on non-extendable leads at all times in public. If that makes your dog unhappy then it's not suitable to be kept as a domestic pet.

i agree it is down to the owner and if I spot a clearly old dog or a dog that doesn't want to play, then I immediately call my dog back abd he has excellent recall. But he will bound over and see if your dog wants to play because he is a DOG following his natural instincts!!
Who are you to decide whether another person's dog should play with yours?
🙄

My dogs have lots of off lead exercise with excellent recall, but sometimes my relative walks them and prefers to keep them on a lead. Other times I want to give my dogs a quick lunchtime walk on lead before coming back to work. If I wanted them to have off lead time, I'd do it.

Why should we be pestered because you're being a know-it-all who thinks "oh but they must want to play with my dog"?

Why should we be pestered because you're being a know-it-all who thinks "oh but they must want to play with my dog"?
In this case the dog is being used as a means to dominate the outdoor space, the owner clearly implicitly believes that her wants and needs trump everyone else's, if she decides that a particular dog is fair game then tough luck if the owner or the dog don't agree!

I cannot fucking STAND the "he's just playing!" offended brigade, they can go fuck themselves.

I agree, but of course young dogs shouldn't be allowed to get into that sort of situation.

Dog owners should also be able to read other humans' body language, and keep their dog under control, when it is plainly obvious that people want the dog to fuck off out of it and stop bothering them.

Slightly off topic but what does it actually mean to socialise a dog?
I thought it meant getting the dog used to different situations and people etc but dog owner friends think it means an opportunity for the dogs to run around and say hello to other dogs.

If I am the person you absolutely dread on dog walks it is because you have a rude dog, or you are an ignorant dog owner, or both.

Your rude dog’s natural instincts do not trump my elderly dog’s natural instincts to be left well alone, nor my natural instincts to want to to go for a nice walk in peace without having enforced interactions with dogs or people.

The irony of your post is of course that dog owners who understand the etiquette of dog ownership and walking would never dread meeting someone like me, because we will both have well trained dogs under control at all times.

It frustrates me how many irresponsible dog owners there are.

If your dog had reacted they'd have blamed you too.

Do you go an sit with people you don't know in the pub? If you wouldn't dream of doing that, then don't let your dog go up to other dogs without checking. And NEVER let him approach a dog on the lead.

My 11 yo dog has been attacked on 3 separate occasions and he absolutely does NOT want to play and will ignore your dog regardless of how much your dog wants to "say hello". I keep him on the lead around other dogs because as his owner I know he can be reactive (because of his previous experiences) and if pushed he will snarl, and if he snarls, other dogs can then react badly to that. Him being on the lead is a clear signal but I also let other owners know - unfortunately the odd one thinks they know better - a man last week told me it was my fault for holding the lead too tight!

Then your dog is going to get bitten, and bitten badly.

My dog will appear to be cute and interested in an approaching dog. Then she will turn around and bite, very hard, without warning. That is why she is always on the lead when other dogs are around.

And when she bites, she means it. And so, because I love her and don't want to have to have her pts for attacking another dog, I keep her close on a lead. And any dog that approaches, thinking she's small and a bitch and 'just wants to play' is going to get a dreadful surprise.

i agree it is down to the owner and if I spot a clearly old dog or a dog that doesn't want to play, then I immediately call my dog back abd he has excellent recall. But he will bound over and see if your dog wants to play because he is a DOG following his natural instincts!!

If a dog is on a lead, keep your dog away. Basic common sense.

a man last week told me it was my fault for holding the lead too tight!
Typical entitled narcissistic dog owner- whatever happens it's never the fault of him or his dog🤬

I picked her up because she's a whippet, and her skin can get shredded quite easily. Turns out it was my legs that got shredded instead. But it's ok. He was friendly.

The dog I walk is kept on a lead for a reason....should your dog ever bound up to it, he will find out what that reason is. maybe concentrate more on making your dog "stay" and put a lead on him when you see other dogs about, it may save you a fortune on vet's bills.

I also find this infuriating and regularly complain about it. Not only is it really unsafe and inconsiderate, but it's also hugely frustrating if you are trying to work with your dog on training.

My young dog (who is always on lead in public areas) is training. He is 'friendly', if friendly means being fixated on every other dog he sees, but we're actively working on that too, and off lead dogs (who also have unreliable recall but apparently that doesn't matter?!) getting in his face with no owner to be seen is massively undermining to everything we're trying to achieve with him.

If your dog doesn't have 100% recall and cannot be relied on to immediately return to you, keep it on a lead. If you are an inconsiderate dog owner and think the world revolves around you and your dog so it doesn't matter what they do, you're not not only inviting disaster but you're a selfish knob.

I agree with you OP. Especially someone who will not accept their dog has behaved badly.

You are not being unreasonable at all. I walked my dog into town earlier this week, part of which goes through a church yard which asks people to have their dogs on leads. Two people with their labs, a black and a cream one, Tilly & Milly I believe, were playing together. Totally fine, but then one lies down on the path in front of us with a certain look, but the owner calls her over. Then the black one is right in my dogs face, whimpering away at her and then the cream one comes over. The owner is just being very ineffective at calling their dogs back and I dropped my dogs lead so she can get away if she wants to. Unfortunately it wrapped around one of the dogs legs briefly, could have been so much worse so I won't do that again, and shouted at them to please call their dogs as mine is on her lead. Eventually we were able to continue on our way, but I did mutter ffs as I walked off. Really put a dampener on the walk.

I have had people let their dogs come up to mine when she was on lead due to various injuries. I had one on an extending lead who was giving off very aggressive signals, let it get closer and closer, until I shouted shorten your lead several times. I almost ended up in the river as we walking along by it.

I prefer my dog being off lead so she can sniff and smell what she wants, within reason. If I see anyone coming near, whether their dog is on or off lead, or even if they don't have a dog with them, I call her to me. If the approaching dog looks friendly then I'll say to mine do you want to say hello, and then they say hello, and we continue on.